Fire near Luapula (ZM)

9.75°S, 29.08°E · first detected on 23 September at 12:56

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 23 September at 12:56 to 22 October at 14:12, that is 29 days, through 1,111 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 24,866 ha.

Detected extent: 24,866 ha
Cumulative power: 12,487 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 269 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 1,111
Estimated emissions: 13.8 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 October 2026 to 21 October 2026. An order-of-magnitude estimate from GFAS (ECMWF, Copernicus CAMS): it also counts neighbouring fires in the same cell. Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information (2026). Published data stop on 21 October 2026.

These four figures cover the polar orbits alone, the ones that measure an area. The pass table below also counts geostationary detections, more frequent but too coarse for geometry, and its power column sums a whole pass where the peak above is that of a single pixel.

“Detected extent” is not “burned area”: it is the union of the ground footprints of the satellite pixels, and a pixel counts in full (375 m for VIIRS, 1 km for MODIS) even when only a forest edge is burning. Compared with press figures it is in practice one and a half to three times the area reported. Detections taken at the edge of the scan swath, too coarse to measure anything at all, are excluded. These figures come from thermal detection and are not an official assessment: only the emergency services and the competent authorities are authoritative.

Replay how the fire spread

The map is framed on this fire's footprint and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the period in which satellites saw it, from the first to the last detection, with twelve hours before and twenty-four after; the ticks on the bar mark the emergency services' announcements that fall within it. The cursor opens on the most powerful pass, and playback replays the whole fire in about thirty seconds. “1 h” shows what is burning within an hour of the chosen moment : the map then follows the power curve below and empties when it falls. “24 h” stacks twenty-four hours : a fire stays visible between two satellite passes, which come two to four times a day. Both are true, but they say different things.

How the radiative power evolved

One point per satellite pass: the sum of the fire radiative power measured over the fire. This is the curve that says whether the fire eased off or picked up again, which no cumulative figure shows. The window covers 30 days; beyond that, clustering would merge two successive fires in the same place.

Fire dynamics

Loading history…

Satellite passes in detail

Pass	Power summed over the pass	Detections	Sensor
22 October at 16:33	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:23	23 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:20	50 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:13	74 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:05	61 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:05	97 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:03	68 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:53	81 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:43	104 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:35	172 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:33	121 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:23	28 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:12	26 MW	3	N20
22 October at 13:51	37 MW	9	N
22 October at 13:15	72 MW	10	N21
22 October at 12:53	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:43	25 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:33	53 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:23	49 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:13	39 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:03	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:53	30 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:23	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:03	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:23	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 08:42	15 MW	2	Terra
21 October at 14:10	23 MW	4	N
21 October at 13:43	21 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:34	102 MW	10	N21
21 October at 13:23	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:13	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:03	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:49	13 MW	2	N20
20 October at 10:53	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:43	22 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:33	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:23	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:03	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 09:53	40 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 09:43	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 09:33	35 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 09:03	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 08:53	17 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 16:03	3 MW	1	Aqua
19 October at 14:12	146 MW	17	N21
19 October at 13:28	59 MW	7	N20
19 October at 13:08	110 MW	10	N
19 October at 08:22	13 MW	1	Terra
18 October at 14:29	9 MW	1	N21
18 October at 13:47	20 MW	3	N20
18 October at 13:25	35 MW	4	N
17 October at 14:04	79 MW	12	N20
17 October at 13:47	147 MW	18	N
17 October at 13:08	439 MW	16	N21
17 October at 08:42	77 MW	9	Terra
17 October at 01:31	5 MW	2	N20
17 October at 01:09	6 MW	2	N
16 October at 15:46	31 MW	4	Aqua
16 October at 14:23	93 MW	11	N20
16 October at 14:04	127 MW	10	N
16 October at 13:28	2 MW	1	N21
16 October at 01:48	1 MW	1	N20
16 October at 01:29	3 MW	5	N
16 October at 00:52	4 MW	2	N21
15 October at 14:21	87 MW	21	N
15 October at 13:47	273 MW	40	N21
15 October at 13:02	277 MW	40	N20
15 October at 09:01	65 MW	2	Terra
14 October at 16:10	83 MW	6	Aqua
14 October at 14:42	12 MW	1	N
14 October at 14:04	117 MW	15	N21
14 October at 13:21	214 MW	28	N20
14 October at 13:02	175 MW	17	N
14 October at 08:25	69 MW	8	Terra
13 October at 15:31	67 MW	4	Aqua
13 October at 14:23	57 MW	7	N21
13 October at 13:40	124 MW	19	N20
12 October at 13:02	171 MW	11	N21
11 October at 15:55	25 MW	3	Aqua
11 October at 14:19	24 MW	2	N20
11 October at 13:57	118 MW	11	N
11 October at 13:21	90 MW	8	N21
10 October at 14:36	88 MW	6	N20
10 October at 14:17	190 MW	18	N
10 October at 13:40	142 MW	13	N21
10 October at 12:56	146 MW	12	N20
10 October at 01:58	1 MW	1	N20
10 October at 01:03	2 MW	2	N21
9 October at 14:36	49 MW	3	N
9 October at 13:57	253 MW	20	N21
9 October at 13:13	337 MW	17	N20
9 October at 12:56	27 MW	3	N
9 October at 02:01	2 MW	2	N
9 October at 01:24	1 MW	1	N21
8 October at 14:19	190 MW	8	N21
8 October at 13:15	2 MW	1	N
7 October at 13:51	100 MW	19	N20
7 October at 13:32	229 MW	23	N
7 October at 12:56	222 MW	27	N21
7 October at 08:44	121 MW	12	Terra
6 October at 14:12	831 MW	13	N20
6 October at 13:51	815 MW	16	N
6 October at 13:15	893 MW	18	N21
5 October at 14:29	78 MW	6	N20
5 October at 14:10	25 MW	5	N
5 October at 13:34	43 MW	8	N21
5 October at 12:49	16 MW	3	N20
4 October at 14:29	7 MW	2	N
4 October at 13:51	95 MW	10	N21
4 October at 13:08	181 MW	16	N20
4 October at 01:54	1 MW	1	N
4 October at 01:16	2 MW	2	N21
3 October at 15:44	67 MW	5	Aqua
3 October at 14:12	205 MW	20	N21
3 October at 13:28	144 MW	13	N20
3 October at 13:08	36 MW	4	N
3 October at 00:52	3 MW	2	N20
2 October at 14:29	18 MW	2	N21
2 October at 13:47	142 MW	12	N20
2 October at 13:25	106 MW	12	N
2 October at 12:49	206 MW	12	N21
1 October at 13:47	15 MW	3	N
1 October at 13:08	101 MW	10	N21
1 October at 01:31	2 MW	2	N20
1 October at 01:09	2 MW	2	N
1 October at 00:33	1 MW	1	N21
30 September at 14:23	31 MW	2	N20
30 September at 14:04	12 MW	1	N
30 September at 13:28	210 MW	20	N21
30 September at 09:07	27 MW	1	Terra
29 September at 13:47	21 MW	3	N21
29 September at 13:02	58 MW	8	N20
29 September at 08:29	9 MW	1	Terra
28 September at 13:19	81 MW	11	N20
27 September at 13:40	7 MW	1	N20
26 September at 13:57	100 MW	12	N20
26 September at 13:38	22 MW	3	N
26 September at 13:02	48 MW	6	N21
26 September at 01:22	1 MW	2	N20
25 September at 14:19	5 MW	1	N20
25 September at 13:57	80 MW	10	N
25 September at 13:21	159 MW	9	N21
24 September at 14:17	13 MW	1	N
24 September at 13:40	100 MW	9	N21
24 September at 12:56	31 MW	1	N20
24 September at 08:29	32 MW	4	Terra
23 September at 15:59	8 MW	1	Aqua

8 other fires near Luapula (ZM)

Separate fires, apart in time or in space, not pieces of this one. A single municipality can have several over one summer, and a forest massif often covers more than a hundred square kilometres.

Follow live

The map shows active fires in 3D, with smoke plumes, forecast wind, drop zones and the live position of water bombers tracked by ADS-B, anywhere in the world.

Open the fire map

Take the data of this fire with you

A ready-to-use archive, paid once, no subscription. It contains:

the satellite detections of the fire
the contours of its progression
the drops and the aircraft tracks
the lightning around it
the severity of the burned area, when computed

From €20.00 excl. VAT, six formats to choose from, link valid for 30 days.

Download the data

Pro subscribers: included. €49 excl. VAT a month, no commitment. The public map stays free. Discover GISFire Pro

© 2026 SARO · Gistin. All rights reserved. The interface, its presentation and the contents of GISFire are protected; reproducing or imitating them requires written permission. The source data remain the property of their respective producers, see the credits.

Legal notice · Privacy policy · · GISFire v2.4.2